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Site01.com - Multi-Environment WordPress Setup

Complete documentation for the site01.com WordPress multi-environment infrastructure on Hostinger VPS.

Table of Contents

Project Overview

This project implements a professional multi-environment WordPress setup with three isolated environments:

  • Live (Production): Public-facing website
  • Stage (Staging): Pre-production testing and client preview
  • Dev (Development): Active development and experimentation

Purpose: Enable proper version control, testing workflows, and safe deployment practices for WordPress development.

Tech Stack:

  • WordPress (Latest)
  • Apache2 Web Server
  • MySQL/MariaDB Database
  • Let's Encrypt SSL Certificates
  • Debian-based Linux OS

Server Information

Hosting Details

  • Provider: Hostinger VPS
  • Server Name: srv1250135
  • IP Address: 72.62.125.163
  • Operating System: Linux (Debian-based)
  • Web Server: Apache2
  • Database: MySQL/MariaDB
  • PHP Version: (Check with php -v on server)

SSH Access

ssh -i ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_gaia root@72.62.125.163

SSH Key Location: ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_gaia

Important: Keep this private key secure and never commit it to version control.

Folder Structure

Complete Directory Layout

/var/www/site01.com/
│
├── live/                           # Production Environment
│   ├── wp-admin/                   # WordPress admin files
│   ├── wp-content/                 # Themes, plugins, uploads
│   │   ├── themes/
│   │   ├── plugins/
│   │   └── uploads/
│   ├── wp-includes/                # WordPress core files
│   ├── wp-config.php               # WordPress config (DB: s01_live)
│   ├── index.php
│   └── ...                         # Other WordPress files
│
├── staging/                        # Staging Environment
│   ├── wp-admin/
│   ├── wp-content/
│   │   ├── themes/
│   │   ├── plugins/
│   │   └── uploads/
│   ├── wp-includes/
│   ├── wp-config.php               # WordPress config (DB: s01_stage)
│   └── ...
│
├── dev/                            # Development Environment
│   ├── wp-admin/
│   ├── wp-content/
│   │   ├── themes/
│   │   ├── plugins/
│   │   └── uploads/
│   ├── wp-includes/
│   ├── wp-config.php               # WordPress config (DB: s01_dev)
│   └── ...
│
└── logs/                           # Apache Log Files
    ├── live_error.log
    ├── live_access.log
    ├── stage_error.log
    ├── stage_access.log
    ├── dev_error.log
    └── dev_access.log

File Permissions

  • Directories: 755 (rwxr-xr-x)
  • Files: 644 (rw-r--r--)
  • Owner: www-data:www-data

Database Configuration

Database Credentials

  • Database User: wpuser
  • Database Password: YourStrongPassword123!
  • Database Host: localhost
  • Database Charset: utf8mb4
  • Database Collate: utf8mb4_unicode_ci

Database Names

Environment Database Name Previous Name
Live s01_live s01_prod
Stage s01_stage s01_stg
Dev s01_dev (new)

Database Migration History

  • Original databases: s01_prod and s01_stg were renamed to s01_live and s01_stage respectively
  • Backup date: 2026-01-15 00:22:22
  • Backup location: /root/db_backups_20260115_082222/

Accessing Databases

# Connect to MySQL
mysql -u wpuser -p

# Show all site01 databases
SHOW DATABASES LIKE 's01_%';

# Use specific database
USE s01_live;

# Show tables
SHOW TABLES;

Environment Details

🟢 Live (Production)

Purpose: Public-facing production website

Property Value
URL https://site01.com
Alternate URL https://www.site01.com
Directory /var/www/site01.com/live
Database s01_live
Apache Config /etc/apache2/sites-available/site01.com.conf
Error Log /var/www/site01.com/logs/live_error.log
Access Log /var/www/site01.com/logs/live_access.log
wp-config.php /var/www/site01.com/live/wp-config.php

wp-config.php database settings:

define( 'DB_NAME', 's01_live' );
define( 'DB_USER', 'wpuser' );
define( 'DB_PASSWORD', 'YourStrongPassword123!' );
define( 'DB_HOST', 'localhost' );

🟡 Stage (Staging)

Purpose: Pre-production testing, client review, and QA

Property Value
URL https://stage.site01.com
Directory /var/www/site01.com/staging
Database s01_stage
Apache Config /etc/apache2/sites-available/stage.site01.com.conf
Error Log /var/www/site01.com/logs/stage_error.log
Access Log /var/www/site01.com/logs/stage_access.log
wp-config.php /var/www/site01.com/staging/wp-config.php

wp-config.php database settings:

define( 'DB_NAME', 's01_stage' );
define( 'DB_USER', 'wpuser' );
define( 'DB_PASSWORD', 'YourStrongPassword123!' );
define( 'DB_HOST', 'localhost' );

🔵 Dev (Development)

Purpose: Active development, testing new features, experimentation

Property Value
URL https://dev.site01.com
Directory /var/www/site01.com/dev
Database s01_dev
Apache Config /etc/apache2/sites-available/dev.site01.com.conf
Error Log /var/www/site01.com/logs/dev_error.log
Access Log /var/www/site01.com/logs/dev_access.log
wp-config.php /var/www/site01.com/dev/wp-config.php

wp-config.php database settings:

define( 'DB_NAME', 's01_dev' );
define( 'DB_USER', 'wpuser' );
define( 'DB_PASSWORD', 'YourStrongPassword123!' );
define( 'DB_HOST', 'localhost' );

Accessing Sites

Access Methods

All environments can be accessed via two methods:

  1. Domain Names (After DNS configuration)
  2. Direct IP Address (Available immediately)

🌐 Via Domain Names (Recommended)

Requirements: DNS records must be configured (see DNS Configuration)

Environment URL Alternative URL
Live https://site01.com https://www.site01.com
Stage https://stage.site01.com -
Dev https://dev.site01.com -

🔢 Via IP Address (Port-Based - Available Immediately)

Available immediately without DNS configuration:

Environment HTTP URL Site Title
Live http://72.62.125.163 Wordpress Hostinger Live Tester Site
Stage http://72.62.125.163:8001 Wordpress Hostinger Staging Site
Dev http://72.62.125.163:8002 Wordpress Hostinger Development Site

Important Notes for Port-based Access:

  1. Port Configuration:

    • Live uses port 80 (default HTTP port, no port number needed in URL)
    • Stage uses port 8001 (must include :8001 in URL)
    • Dev uses port 8002 (must include :8002 in URL)

  2. Direct Access:

    • All three environments are directly accessible via IP + port
    • No DNS configuration or hosts file modification needed
    • Perfect for immediate testing and development

  3. Firewall Note:

    • Ensure ports 80, 8001, and 8002 are open on your server firewall
    • Most hosting providers (including Hostinger) allow these ports by default

  4. SSL/HTTPS Consideration:

    • Port-based access uses HTTP (not HTTPS)
    • For HTTPS, you need domain names and SSL certificates
    • HTTP is fine for development/testing, but use HTTPS for production

Testing Before DNS (Optional - For Domain Testing)

If you want to test with domain names before configuring DNS:

On Mac/Linux:

sudo nano /etc/hosts
# Add these lines:
72.62.125.163  site01.com
72.62.125.163  www.site01.com
72.62.125.163  stage.site01.com
72.62.125.163  dev.site01.com

On Windows:

Edit: C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts
Add:
72.62.125.163  site01.com
72.62.125.163  www.site01.com
72.62.125.163  stage.site01.com
72.62.125.163  dev.site01.com

After adding these entries, you can access all environments using domain names.

Quick Access URLs Summary

Via IP (Available Now - Recommended for Development):

Live:   http://72.62.125.163
Stage:  http://72.62.125.163:8001
Dev:    http://72.62.125.163:8002

Via Domain (After DNS + SSL Configuration):

Live:   https://site01.com
Stage:  https://stage.site01.com
Dev:    https://dev.site01.com

Via Domain (Before SSL, After DNS):

Live:   http://site01.com
Stage:  http://stage.site01.com
Dev:    http://dev.site01.com

WordPress Admin Access

Admin URLs

Via IP Address (Available Now):

Environment Admin URL Database
Live http://72.62.125.163/wp-admin s01_live
Stage http://72.62.125.163:8001/wp-admin s01_stage
Dev http://72.62.125.163:8002/wp-admin s01_dev

Via Domain (After DNS Setup):

Environment Admin URL Database
Live https://site01.com/wp-admin s01_live
Stage https://stage.site01.com/wp-admin s01_stage
Dev https://dev.site01.com/wp-admin s01_dev

Admin Credentials

Note: The admin username and password are stored in the WordPress database. Stage and Dev environments were copied from the original staging environment, so they share the same admin credentials initially.

Important Security: Change admin passwords for each environment after setup to prevent cross-environment access issues.

Development Workflow

Recommended Workflow

┌─────────────┐
│     Dev     │  ← Make changes here
│             │  ← Install plugins, modify themes
│             │  ← Test new features
└──────┬──────┘
       │
       │ (After testing)
       ▼
┌─────────────┐
│    Stage    │  ← Deploy for review
│             │  ← Client preview
│             │  ← QA testing
└──────┬──────┘
       │
       │ (After approval)
       ▼
┌─────────────┐
│    Live     │  ← Deploy to production
│             │  ← Public website
└─────────────┘

Step-by-Step Process

  1. Development Phase

    • Work in Dev environment (https://dev.site01.com)
    • Make code changes, install plugins, update themes
    • Test functionality thoroughly

  2. Staging Phase

    • Copy changes from Dev to Stage
    • Review on Stage environment (https://stage.site01.com)
    • Client preview and approval
    • QA testing

  3. Production Phase

    • Deploy approved changes to Live
    • Monitor Live environment (https://site01.com)
    • Keep backup before deployment

File Deployment Methods

Method 1: Manual Copy (Simple)

# Copy theme from dev to stage
rsync -av /var/www/site01.com/dev/wp-content/themes/your-theme/ \
         /var/www/site01.com/staging/wp-content/themes/your-theme/

# Copy plugin from stage to live
rsync -av /var/www/site01.com/staging/wp-content/plugins/your-plugin/ \
         /var/www/site01.com/live/wp-content/plugins/your-plugin/

Method 2: Git Version Control (Advanced)

# Initialize git in dev environment
cd /var/www/site01.com/dev/wp-content/themes/your-theme
git init
git add .
git commit -m "Initial commit"

# Push to repository and pull in other environments

Database Sync

Copy database from Dev to Stage:

mysqldump s01_dev > /tmp/dev_backup.sql
mysql s01_stage < /tmp/dev_backup.sql

# Update URLs in stage database
mysql s01_stage -e "UPDATE wp_options SET option_value = 'https://stage.site01.com' WHERE option_name IN ('siteurl', 'home');"

Copy database from Stage to Live:

# CAUTION: This will overwrite live data!
mysqldump s01_stage > /tmp/stage_backup.sql
mysql s01_live < /tmp/stage_backup.sql

# Update URLs in live database
mysql s01_live -e "UPDATE wp_options SET option_value = 'https://site01.com' WHERE option_name IN ('siteurl', 'home');"

DNS Configuration

Required DNS Records

Configure these A records in your domain registrar's DNS settings:

Type Name Value TTL
A site01.com 72.62.125.163 3600
A www.site01.com 72.62.125.163 3600
A stage.site01.com 72.62.125.163 3600
A dev.site01.com 72.62.125.163 3600

Verify DNS Propagation

# Check DNS resolution
nslookup site01.com
nslookup stage.site01.com
nslookup dev.site01.com

# Or use dig
dig site01.com +short
dig stage.site01.com +short
dig dev.site01.com +short

Online Tools:

Note: DNS propagation can take 5-30 minutes (sometimes up to 48 hours).

SSL/HTTPS Setup

Install Certbot

# Update package list
apt update

# Install certbot and Apache plugin
apt install certbot python3-certbot-apache -y

Install SSL Certificates

For Live Site:

certbot --apache -d site01.com -d www.site01.com

For Stage Site:

certbot --apache -d stage.site01.com

For Dev Site:

certbot --apache -d dev.site01.com

Auto-Renewal

Certbot automatically configures auto-renewal. Verify with:

# Test renewal process
certbot renew --dry-run

# Check renewal timer
systemctl status certbot.timer

Manual Renewal

# Renew all certificates
certbot renew

# Renew specific certificate
certbot renew --cert-name site01.com

SSL Certificate Locations

/etc/letsencrypt/live/site01.com/
├── cert.pem
├── chain.pem
├── fullchain.pem
└── privkey.pem

Common Tasks

Restart Apache

# Reload configuration (graceful, no downtime)
systemctl reload apache2

# Full restart
systemctl restart apache2

# Check status
systemctl status apache2

View Logs

# Live environment
tail -f /var/www/site01.com/logs/live_error.log
tail -f /var/www/site01.com/logs/live_access.log

# Stage environment
tail -f /var/www/site01.com/logs/stage_error.log
tail -f /var/www/site01.com/logs/stage_access.log

# Dev environment
tail -f /var/www/site01.com/logs/dev_error.log
tail -f /var/www/site01.com/logs/dev_access.log

# Apache error log
tail -f /var/log/apache2/error.log

Test Apache Configuration

# Test configuration syntax
apache2ctl configtest

# Show loaded virtual hosts
apache2ctl -S

Backup Database

# Backup all environments
mysqldump s01_live > /root/backups/s01_live_$(date +%Y%m%d).sql
mysqldump s01_stage > /root/backups/s01_stage_$(date +%Y%m%d).sql
mysqldump s01_dev > /root/backups/s01_dev_$(date +%Y%m%d).sql

# Backup all databases (compressed)
mysqldump s01_live | gzip > /root/backups/s01_live_$(date +%Y%m%d).sql.gz

Restore Database

# Restore from backup
mysql s01_live < /root/backups/s01_live_20260115.sql

# Restore from compressed backup
gunzip < /root/backups/s01_live_20260115.sql.gz | mysql s01_live

Update WordPress URLs

# If URLs need to be changed in database
mysql s01_live -e "UPDATE wp_options SET option_value = 'https://site01.com' WHERE option_name IN ('siteurl', 'home');"

Fix File Permissions

# Reset ownership
chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/site01.com/live
chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/site01.com/staging
chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/site01.com/dev

# Reset directory permissions
find /var/www/site01.com -type d -exec chmod 755 {} \;

# Reset file permissions
find /var/www/site01.com -type f -exec chmod 644 {} \;

Enable/Disable Apache Sites

# Enable site
a2ensite site01.com.conf

# Disable site
a2dissite site01.com.conf

# Reload after changes
systemctl reload apache2

Clear WordPress Cache (if using caching plugin)

# Delete cache files (example for W3 Total Cache)
rm -rf /var/www/site01.com/live/wp-content/cache/*

# Or use WP-CLI
wp cache flush --path=/var/www/site01.com/live

Troubleshooting

Website Shows White Screen

Possible Causes:

  • PHP error
  • Plugin conflict
  • Theme issue

Solutions:

# Check error logs
tail -50 /var/www/site01.com/logs/live_error.log

# Enable WordPress debugging
# Edit wp-config.php and add:
define('WP_DEBUG', true);
define('WP_DEBUG_LOG', true);

# Disable all plugins (via database)
mysql s01_live -e "UPDATE wp_options SET option_value = '' WHERE option_name = 'active_plugins';"

Database Connection Error

Error: "Error establishing a database connection"

Solutions:

# Verify database exists
mysql -e "SHOW DATABASES LIKE 's01_%';"

# Test database connection
mysql -u wpuser -p s01_live

# Check wp-config.php credentials
grep "define.*DB_" /var/www/site01.com/live/wp-config.php

# Restart MySQL
systemctl restart mysql

Permission Denied Errors

# Fix ownership and permissions
chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/site01.com/live
find /var/www/site01.com/live -type d -exec chmod 755 {} \;
find /var/www/site01.com/live -type f -exec chmod 644 {} \;

# Make uploads directory writable
chmod 755 /var/www/site01.com/live/wp-content/uploads

Apache Won't Start

# Check configuration
apache2ctl configtest

# Check what's using port 80
netstat -tlnp | grep :80

# View Apache error log
tail -50 /var/log/apache2/error.log

SSL Certificate Issues

# Test SSL certificate
openssl s_client -connect site01.com:443

# Renew certificate
certbot renew --force-renewal --cert-name site01.com

# Check certificate expiry
certbot certificates

Site Redirects to Wrong Environment

Problem: Live site redirects to stage or dev

Solution:

# Update URLs in database
mysql s01_live -e "UPDATE wp_options SET option_value = 'https://site01.com' WHERE option_name IN ('siteurl', 'home');"

# Clear WordPress cache
wp cache flush --path=/var/www/site01.com/live

# Clear browser cache and test in incognito mode

Backup & Recovery

Backup Locations

Current Backups:

  • /root/db_backups_20260115_082222/s01_prod_backup.sql (original production)
  • /root/db_backups_20260115_082222/s01_stg_backup.sql (original staging)

Backup Strategy

Daily Backups (Recommended):

#!/bin/bash
# Save as /root/scripts/daily-backup.sh

BACKUP_DIR="/root/backups/$(date +%Y%m%d)"
mkdir -p $BACKUP_DIR

# Backup databases
mysqldump s01_live | gzip > $BACKUP_DIR/s01_live.sql.gz
mysqldump s01_stage | gzip > $BACKUP_DIR/s01_stage.sql.gz
mysqldump s01_dev | gzip > $BACKUP_DIR/s01_dev.sql.gz

# Backup files (uploads)
tar -czf $BACKUP_DIR/live_uploads.tar.gz /var/www/site01.com/live/wp-content/uploads/
tar -czf $BACKUP_DIR/stage_uploads.tar.gz /var/www/site01.com/staging/wp-content/uploads/
tar -czf $BACKUP_DIR/dev_uploads.tar.gz /var/www/site01.com/dev/wp-content/uploads/

# Delete backups older than 30 days
find /root/backups -type d -mtime +30 -exec rm -rf {} \;

Set up cron job:

# Edit crontab
crontab -e

# Add daily backup at 2 AM
0 2 * * * /root/scripts/daily-backup.sh

Recovery Process

Restore Database:

# Stop using the site (optional but recommended)
a2dissite site01.com.conf
systemctl reload apache2

# Restore database
mysql s01_live < /root/backups/20260115/s01_live.sql

# Re-enable site
a2ensite site01.com.conf
systemctl reload apache2

Restore Files:

# Restore uploads
tar -xzf /root/backups/20260115/live_uploads.tar.gz -C /

# Fix permissions
chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/site01.com/live/wp-content/uploads/

Security Notes

Security Best Practices

  1. Keep WordPress Updated

    # Use WP-CLI to update WordPress core
wp core update --path=/var/www/site01.com/live

# Update plugins
wp plugin update --all --path=/var/www/site01.com/live

# Update themes
wp theme update --all --path=/var/www/site01.com/live

  2. Strong Passwords

    • Database password: YourStrongPassword123! (consider changing to a stronger one)
    • WordPress admin passwords should be unique for each environment
    • Use password manager to store credentials securely

  3. File Permissions

    • Directories: 755
    • Files: 644
    • wp-config.php: 600 (even more restrictive)
    chmod 600 /var/www/site01.com/live/wp-config.php

  4. Disable File Editing in WordPress Add to wp-config.php:

    define('DISALLOW_FILE_EDIT', true);

  5. Limit Login Attempts

    • Install plugin like "Limit Login Attempts Reloaded"
    • Configure fail2ban for WordPress

  6. Hide WordPress Version Add to functions.php:

    remove_action('wp_head', 'wp_generator');

  7. Regular Backups

    • Daily database backups
    • Weekly full site backups
    • Off-server backup storage

  8. Firewall

    # Install and configure UFW
apt install ufw
ufw allow 22/tcp
ufw allow 80/tcp
ufw allow 443/tcp
ufw enable

  9. SSH Security

    • Keep SSH key secure
    • Consider disabling password authentication
    • Use SSH key authentication only

  10. Monitor Logs

    # Watch for suspicious activity
tail -f /var/www/site01.com/logs/live_access.log | grep -i "POST"

Security Checklist

  • WordPress core up to date
  • All plugins up to date
  • All themes up to date
  • Strong admin passwords set
  • File permissions correct (755/644)
  • wp-config.php permissions restrictive (600)
  • File editing disabled in WordPress
  • SSL certificates installed and auto-renewing
  • Regular backups configured
  • Firewall enabled
  • Login attempt limiting enabled
  • WordPress version hidden
  • SSH key secure
  • Database password strong

Version Control Integration (Future)

Git Integration Plan

Once the multi-environment setup is stable, consider implementing Git version control:

  1. Initialize Git Repository

    cd /var/www/site01.com/dev
git init

  2. Create .gitignore

    wp-config.php
wp-content/uploads/
*.log
.htaccess

  3. Connect to Remote Repository

    git remote add origin git@github.com:yourusername/site01.git
git push -u origin main

  4. Deployment Workflow

    • Dev → commit and push changes
    • Stage → pull from repository
    • Live → pull from repository (after approval)

Contact & Support

Server Access

  • SSH: ssh -i ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_gaia root@72.62.125.163
  • Root Access: Available

Hosting Support

WordPress Resources

Changelog

2026-01-15

  • ✅ Initial multi-environment setup completed
  • ✅ Created three databases: s01_live, s01_stage, s01_dev
  • ✅ Renamed s01_prod → s01_live
  • ✅ Renamed s01_stg → s01_stage
  • ✅ Installed WordPress in dev environment
  • ✅ Configured Apache virtual hosts for all three environments
  • ✅ Updated WordPress URLs in all databases
  • ✅ Set proper file permissions
  • ✅ Created database backups in /root/db_backups_20260115_082222/
  • 📋 Next: DNS configuration and SSL setup

License

This documentation is proprietary to the site01.com project.

Last Updated: 2026-01-15 Documentation Version: 1.0 Author: Roger Woolie (with Claude Code assistance)

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